Using some mushroom stock cubes that we eventually found in a shop, the rest of the soup was formed from shallots, garlic, oyster mushrooms, a little red curry paste, and enriched with coconut milk.
We barely ate for the rest of the day, as we had to be at Time for Lime restaurant for a New Year's Eve special cooking class called the Naked Chef Evening.
Time for Lime |
Cooking classes take place every day at the restaurant, but for the last ten years the twist on 31st January is that the men cook for the ladies. I naively thought that the 'naked' in Naked Chef was intended as a play on the Jamie Oliver vehicle, in which (thankfully) the viewers were not subjected to any actual nudity. Wrong. The gentlemen present were requested to remove as many clothes as they desired, leaving on underpants for "reasons of hygiene".
Naked Chefs |
There was a general consensus that ridding ourselves of a shirt showed willing without showing anything else we might wish to keep covered up. The chef then pulled out a bottle of brandy as an 'ice breaker' which, had she done so a few moments earlier, might have changed the amount of flesh on display.
Emboldened by our collective nudity and aware that the open kitchen meant that we were on display to the ladies in the bar, we set to work.
While a great deal of fun, the class did have an informational element as the regular lessons, owing entirely to the chef's insights into Thai cooking gleaned slowly over her many years living in Thailand.
We were told that Thais are brought up to prepare ingredients instinctively in the correct way for each dish and, therefore, to recognise when it should be eaten or left aside. Unlike European cooking, in which bay leaves and bouquets garnis are removed before serving, Thais eat around those ingredients used as flavouring only, using shape as a visual cue whether to eat them or not.
As kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass stalks are fibrous, they must be finely sliced if intended to be eaten. However, as flavouring they need only to be torn, chopped or bashed with a cleaver. The same goes for chillies and shallots.
And that shallot |
With this time-saving tip for preparing vegetables, we started work on the tom kha, which is solely about getting the balance of flavours right in the coconut soup. We prepared two versions - one with fish sauce and one without. To be honest, it was difficult to recreate the depth of flavour imparted by the fish sauce, although we did not use any soy sauce or replacement other than salt.
Other teams prepared some exotic-looking green-lipped mussels three different ways. French-style meant white wine and cream, Spanish-style was red wine, while Thai-style included all the flavours we had just been introduced to. Even when not vegetarian, mussels were not high on my list of favourite foods, but I would have taken a bowl of each of these sauces with any other ingredient.
With our part over, the table was laid with the results of our efforts and with some additional dishes more expertly prepared by the permanent chefs. These included a deliciously sweet and rich massaman curry brimming with comforting chunks of potatoes, and tofu skewers (which I skewered myself) that had been marinated in a light curry and barbecued.
Having eaten our fill of the buffet and drunk some excellent cocktails (including a superb lemongrass margarita), we segued onto one of a number of long-tailed boats waiting to take us out into the bay for midnight.
Laying back as the boat cut its engine, we drifted out into the black water and watched as glowing Chinese lanterns floated up like aerial jellyfish migrating into the night sky. They carried people's hopes for the new year ahead and released them of their worries. We cruised almost the whole 4km stretch of Khlong Dao, whose beach was ablaze with fireworks and catherine wheels. Welcome to 2015.